“Is that a get rich quick scheme? I’m more into the hard work kind of stuff.”
That’s what some dude told me on my trip last week. My good friend (who I knew for a few days), checked out Studenomics, and that was his conclusion.
Seriously!
I was kind of offended. Well, I don’t really get offended and I’m always open to criticism. So I poured him a huge glass of wine and asked him to explain what he meant.
Long story short : financial freedom seems like a scam to some because it doesn’t seem possible at first. I get that. But that’s not the same thing as a get rich quick scheme. Saving money and paying off debt in the long run has nothing to do with getting rich fast with some elaborate plan.
My view on get rich quick ideas is simple : THEY WILL GET YOU NOWHERE!
Financial freedom is about paying off your debt, saving some money up, cutting back on expenses, and enjoying life. You don’t have to live in Thailand or be making millions. You also shouldn’t expect to see perfect results tomorrow if you haven’t started taking your money seriously until today.
And let’s be honest…
Here’s a hidden insight that I found in the 4-Hour Workweek : People want to experience what they think only millions can buy.
The biggest problem with get rich quick ideas that nobody mentions is…
That they take away from small bits of money that you could be making.
Making small money, paying down debt, and slowly cutting back on expenses. None of these sound like much fun. I get that. The thing is that you have to go through the process before you can see any real results. You can’t just expect to start off with the big bucks right away.
So instead of chasing get rich quick ideas, I want to see you go after the quick small-wins and the long-term big wins in your life.
This could be any of the following:
- Putting more money towards your debt.
- Finding a second job.
- Trying to get into freelancing.
- Anything that puts you ahead.
Chasing get rich quick ideas will NOT put you ahead.
The real secret to financial success is…
Planning!
That is all.
Too many of us go through life hoping that things will just magically improve one day.
They may. They may not.
You have to make some sort of a plan to get ahead. You can’t just hope and pray for things get better without putting in the work. That’s just the way it is.
Can you get rich quick?
I’m sure that you can.
There are investments and decisions that pay off rather fast.
You can become a master at poker, get signed to the WWE, or get your dream job, where you make huge money instantly (not counting the insane amount of work it took to get there). I’ve actually seen all three happen to friends. The thing is that it wasn’t easy getting there.
It’s also possible that you get totally lucky. You can win the lottery, inherit some money, or get lucky with some insurance claim.
I’m not saying that it’s impossible. You just have to go about it the right way.
What’s my deal with get rich quick schemes?
I sort of chased them for half a year!
When I finished up with community college, I had half a year to kill before I started at university. I went to school in the previous summer so that I would have the winter off to work and start a business.
I worked hard that year. I put in some crazy hours while I enjoyed being away from school. During my free time, I researched ways to get rich.
I would wake up and browse the web until I got tired. I thought I was researching. I was just researching ways to get rich quick.
I got nothing done.
The only good thing that came out of this period was that I discovered personal finance blogs. I waited from January until November of 2008 to finally launch Studenomics. Too many damn get rich fast ideas were on my mind.
What can you do right now?
Do something real. Do something that will generate results.
It’s great to chase big dreams and bold ideas, but you need to take care of the fundamentals first.
Here’s what you can do right now:
1. You can open a savings account right now! Start saving some money. Stop spending it on stupid crap that won’t help you get ahead.
2. Get into trading stocks. Read all about it here. Join Trade King if you’re ready to get started. Try your hand at investing when you’re ready. It beats looking into useless theories about how you can “make $10,000 a day from the beach.”
4. Brainstorm how you can make money on your own. I have a book on how you can start freelancing now available on Amazon. Find a way to make more money.
###
If you ever want to see any real results in life, you’ve got to drop the get rich quick mindset. This is your wake up call.
Some people and companies are so good at selling that they can make anything seem easy. That’s the thing though – making money takes work! And work is usually not easy. There are so many scam artists out there that you just have to second guess anything that sounds too good to be true.
That’s a good point. Working isn’t usually easy. If it was easy, then everyone would do it. So why isn’t everyone doing it?